The Folly of the Philosophers and the Wisdom from Above: A Valentinian Reflection on Greek and Hebrew Thought

**The Folly of the Philosophers and the Wisdom from Above: A Valentinian Reflection on Greek and Hebrew Thought**

*\~800 words*

In the ancient world, both Greek and barbarian thinkers sought wisdom through philosophy, speculation, and imagined systems. Yet according to Valentinian theology, as represented in texts such as *The Tripartite Tractate* and *Eugnostos the Blessed*, such pursuits—though noble in intention—ultimately ended in confusion, error, and contradiction. For they were based not on revelation from the True Source, but on vain imaginings, rebellious powers, and disorderly thought.

**The Greeks and the Powers of Imagination**

*The Tripartite Tractate* offers a sharp critique of those regarded as wise in the Greco-Roman world. It declares:

> “Those who were wise among the Greeks and the barbarians have advanced to the powers which have come into being by way of imagination and vain thought.”

Rather than reaching upward toward a genuine knowledge of the divine, these philosophers moved inward into the constructs of their own minds. They did not merely err in names or titles; the error ran deeper—it infected their understanding of the powers themselves. These thinkers, influenced by rebellious powers, developed systems filled with internal conflict, self-assertion, and arrogance. The result was a cacophony of ideas masquerading as wisdom.

> “They spoke in a likely, arrogant and imaginary way concerning the things which they thought of as wisdom, although the likeness deceived them, since they thought that they had attained the truth, when they had (only) attained error.”

This error was not superficial. It created deep divisions in human knowledge. As *The Tripartite Tractate* continues:

> “Therefore, nothing was in agreement with its fellows, nothing, neither philosophy nor types of medicine nor types of rhetoric nor types of music nor types of logic, but they are opinions and theories.”

Every field of knowledge was plagued by contradiction because it was cut off from the true Source. The ruling powers themselves, described as “the indescribable quality of those who hold sway,” imposed confusion and misled even the most brilliant minds.

**The Hebrew Path and the Power of Representation**

But there is a contrast: *The Tripartite Tractate* also speaks of a line of development arising from the Hebrews—not from the hylics (the material-minded), but from those who moved beyond the Greek mode of thought. These were not bound by vain speculation, but were carried forward by the powers that move toward representation—toward grasping what is true by participating in the divine order.

> “Now, as for the things which came forth from the <race> of the Hebrews, things which are written by the hylics who speak in the fashion of the Greeks... they grasped so as to attain the truth and used the confused powers which act in them. Afterwards they attained to the order of the unmixed ones... the unity which exists as a representation of the representation of the Father.”

This “representation of the representation” reflects the mediated, revelatory way in which true knowledge of the divine is received. It is not direct or exhaustive—it is not a stripping away of mystery—but it is real, and it leads to the truth. It is enveloped in wisdom:

> “It is not invisible in its nature, but a wisdom envelops it, so that it might preserve the form of the truly invisible one.”

**Dust and the Failure of Human Speculation**

The theme of failed human inquiry continues in *Eugnostos the Blessed*, which begins with an astonishing humility:

> “Rejoice in this, that you know. Greetings! I want you to know that all men born from the foundation of the world until now are dust.”

All men are dust—not only in their mortality, but in the poverty of their knowledge. Though many have inquired about the divine—about who God is and what He is like—the text laments:

> “They have not found him.”

Even the wisest among them, those who have studied the natural order and the arrangement of the world, have failed. They looked at the cosmos and drew conclusions, but their conclusions were contradictory:

> “The wisest among them have speculated about the truth from the ordering of the world. And the speculation has not reached the truth. For the ordering is spoken of in three (different) opinions by all the philosophers; hence they do not agree.”

Some philosophers said the world directed itself. Others said providence governed all. Still others appealed to fate. But according to *Eugnostos*, all three are false:

> “For whatever is from itself is an empty life; it is self-made. Providence is foolish. Fate is an undiscerning thing.”

These systems—self-causation, providential determinism, and fatalism—are each shown to be either empty, foolish, or blind. None offers a path to the knowledge of the True God.

**A Voice Not of This World**

Yet there is hope. The text speaks of a different voice—a revelation not of speculation, but of confession. This voice leads away from error and toward truth:

> “Whoever, then, is able to get free of these three voices I have just mentioned and come by means of another voice to confess the God of truth and agree in everything concerning him, he is immortal dwelling in the midst of mortal men.”

Here lies the heart of Valentinian thought: salvation and immortality do not come by human systems or philosophical constructs, but by hearing and confessing the truth revealed from above. Those who do so are “immortal,” even while living among mortals.

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**Conclusion**

Both *The Tripartite Tractate* and *Eugnostos the Blessed* present a profound critique of human wisdom and a call to embrace divine revelation. The philosophies of the Greeks and the systems of the world, though lofty, end in contradiction and confusion. But there is another way: a revealed wisdom, enfolded in representation and enveloped in mystery, that leads to unity and truth. To grasp it is not to speculate—but to confess. And in that confession lies immortality.